


Bad Life Choices

by Lady_Phenyx



Series: Whumptober 2019 [32]
Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen, Kidnapping, ask to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 20:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Phenyx/pseuds/Lady_Phenyx
Summary: It's never been dangerous to date the Police Inspector before, but when a group of criminals want to be sure their crime will go off without a hitch, Mymble Jr. finds herself being used as collateral.Her significant others and little siblings are Not Pleased about that.Whumptober Day 27: Ransom





	Bad Life Choices

Moomin Valley was, by and large, a peaceful place.

Oh, there were adventures to be had, but crime was rare. Most of it was brought in from the outside, and quickly dealt with.

Which meant that the Police Inspector's days were calm, spent mostly in gardening and in picnics with Mymble and Too-Ticky, sometimes with Little My tagging along.

And now that Mymble and Little My had discovered Snufkin to be their long lost, thought dead, little brother, he also was sometimes on those outings, he and the Inspector warily circling each other.

The Inspector wanted to get along with Snufkin – he was Mymble's little brother, a fixture in the valley whether he realized it or not, part of the fabric that made Moomin Valley what it was, and a good person.

But, it seemed, there had been enough brushes with the overzealous outside Moomin Valley, the ones who didn't appreciate Snufkin's free and easy way of life, to make him wary of the uniform.

So the interactions between them were polite, but not yet warm. The Inspector kept hoping they could be, not just for Mymble's sake but out of gratitude (he had eventually figured out the trick behind the 'invisible' thief, and though he'd been angry at first at the trick, he was rather grateful for Snufkin and his friends going so far out of their way to help him keep his beloved job), and regarded Snufkin as one would a stray cat they wished to befriend, letting him make the first moves.

It was a very slow process, but the speed small price to pay for the slowly warming relations between them.

But Snufkin had never sought him out first before.

He stepped inside the police station cautiously – he had only entered it before now with others, or unwillingly when the overzealous constable had joined them and arrested...pretty much everyone in the valley.

The Inspector greeted him warmly, watching closely to see the wariness on Snufkin's face ease.

“Ah, you haven't seen my sister yet today, have you?” Snufkin asked. “We were going to gather flowers and she hasn't shown up, and we were supposed to meet an hour ago. It's not like her to be so late.”

“You're right, it's not,” the Inspector agreed, sitting up properly in his chair, a chill running through him. “Did you check her home?”

“You were between the meadow and her house, so I stopped here first,” Snufkin said reasonably.

“I hope she isn't sick,” the Inspector said, getting up in a hurry to follow Snufkin. “That was a nasty cold that was going around a week ago.”

“It was,” Snufkin agreed.

They walked in silence then, taking the path to Mymble's house.

Little My met them along the way. “Have you seen our sister?” she demanded of Snufkin.

He shook his head. “We were just going to her house to try and find her,” he said. “We were supposed to meet this morning.”

“Her house is still dark,” Little My said, crossing her arms. “I don't like this one bit.”

Snufkin hummed softly and set off again, faster now, slowly picking up speed until he was running.

He barely paused at the door to Mymble's house, flinging open the door with Little My at his heels. The Inspector paused, unwilling to simply enter Mymble's house.

Snufkin appeared at the door a second later. “Something's wrong,” he said, a note to his voice the Inspector hadn't heard before. Too-Ticky was coming up the path, and he raised his voice for her to hear. “Something bad's happened. It looks like someone's wrecked Mymble's home.”

Too-Ticky hurried up the path, she and the Inspector nodding to each other before entering the house.

A 'wreck' was a Snufkin understatement.

Furniture was overturned. Vases were lying on the floor, their contents scattered and water dripping from their tops, some of them broken. Pictures were lying on the floor or cockeyed on the wall, decorations scattered, the entire room looking as though a fight had taken place.

“The kettle was left on,” Snufkin called from the kitchen. “It's nearly boiled dry.” There was a soft clanking as he moved it, so to save at least one of Mymble's possessions. “There's some plates broken, too, but it looks like whatever happened mostly was in the living room.”

The Inspector glanced into the kitchen and had to agree with Snufkin's assessment. “It looks like they came in through the kitchen door,” he said, as Little My searched in the other room, Too-Ticky doing the same but quieter, without touching anything yet.

Snufkin looked out towards the door and nodded. He was very still as he did, and the Inspector wondered what he was thinking.

Snufkin was an easy going mumrik, much like his father, but the Inspector remembered his brief meeting with the Joxter. He may have been dim, but even he could recognize that there could be something dangerous about that one, if he were roused to anger.

“There's somethin' in here you'd best see,” Too-Ticky called.

Wordlessly Snufkin hurried back into the living room behind the Inspector.

Too-Ticky held out a sheet of paper. “It was pinned to the couch. Little wonder we didn't see it at first. It's bad.”

The Inspector snatched the paper and read it quickly, before holding it at arm's length. “What‽ They can't mean that!”

Snufkin carefully took the paper from the Inspector to read it for himself.

_To tHe Inspektor,_

_We hve yur girlfrend. Tmorrrow they'll be a robbry spreeee. Yu leav us be an we'll leve a note at the statn teln yu wher to find yur girl th day aftr th day after. InTerfear n we put hur under, git it? Yu listn, an we wun't hurt hur. Bee a reel sham ta hurt a purty grl. Up t yu._

The Inspector started ranting as Snufkin inspected the letter, anger building though he was outwardly calm.

Little My was seething. Snufkin glanced up at Too-Ticky and saw the same rage in her eyes, kept under her layer of icy calm.

“There's not much worth stealing in the valley,” he pointed out. “Material wise, at least. I mean, Moominmamma's grandmother's book is the most valuable thing in the valley to me, but to everyone else...”

“The most I can think of are Mymble and Mrs. Fillyjonk's pearl necklaces,” Too-Ticky said thoughtfully. “Everyone knows she has one after that business with the spirit of the bottle. Inspector?”

The Inspector paused, looking back at the three sets of eyes watching him, turning sheepish. “Oh, sorry. You're right. Being angry won't help Mymble now.” He coughed sheepishly. “Let me think...you're right. Apart from those necklaces...oh, and I think Sniff has a few gold coins tucked away...there's nothing in Moomin Valley they could want.”

Snufkin suddenly went still, save for a thrash of his tail. “Wait...Little My, do you remember when Aunt Jane came to visit? Moominpappa's Aunt Jane?”

“How could I forget?” Little My snapped, crossing her arms.

“She said she was going to leave some of her gold with Moominpappa, to have it get used to him. Did she?”

Little My's eyes went wide. “I...think she did. What she didn't give to the Snork and Mr. Hemulen.”

“But if we warn them, does that count as interfering?” The Inspector asked anxiously. “Oh dear, oh dear, what do we do?”

“We go to Moomin House,” Snufkin said. “If they know anything about Moomin Valley, then they'll know everyone goes there when something's wrong, and it won't seem strange. Then,” his eyes flashed, his sister and Too-Ticky flashing angry smiles in response to that show of anger, “we make a plan.”

\---XXX---

Mymble woke up in a flash.

Unfortunately, a lifetime of caring for dozens of siblings meant she was awake and aware of everything going on around her in an instant, so she didn't have the slow waking to enjoy being ignorant of what had happened.

How dare these...these thugs break into her home in such a manner? They had broken things, she was sure of it.

Well, at least she hadn't gone quietly like they'd obviously expected. She may have been the cultured, gentle one, but all of a mymble's children learned to squall and give as good as they got.

Whatever could they want?

She tried quietly to ease her way out of the rope crudely tied around her, binding her ankles and wrists and around her arms. The gag in her mouth left a musty taste, and it made her grimace to think when the last time it might have been washed.

“Hey, the girl's wakin' up,” a voice called, and Mymble went still.

She didn't know what to expect – the books she and Snorkmaiden loaned each other were sparse on details – but she had an idea that it would be bad, if things went to the worst.

Still. She was a mymble, an Eldest Daughter, and she was made of tougher stuff than they reckoned.

More men came into the room, their faces masked, which gave her hope. If they intended to kill her, they wouldn't hide their identities, would they? Why bother then?

“Do you think they believed us? We don't have to send 'em proof we got 'er?” one of the men asked, playing with his knife in a way that made Mymble decidedly uncomfortable.

“Put that away,” one of the others snapped, and from the way the first obeyed, sullenly, Mymble guessed he was in charge as much as anyone was. “They're tolerant folk around here and we're already pushing things. Send her back in more than one piece and who knows what might happen.”

“They're too soft to do anything,” the knife one protested.

“And that's why I'm the brains here. Ya gotta know how far ya can push folks afore they retaliate. Sorry about this, miss,” he said to Mymble, who put on her best 'sweet innocent frightened maiden' look. “Promise not to scream and we'll take out th' gag.”

She nodded, keeping her eyes wide, feeling tears gather as she refused to blink.

The gag was removed and she took several deep breaths.

“Oh please, what do you want?” she asked, trying to sound as frightened as possible. Little My would be disgusted to hear her now, she thought, but she needed them underestimating her.

She was actually building anger alongside the fear. Fear was still stronger, but...

“Don't you worry that pretty head of yours,” Brains said condescendingly. “Your boyfriend does as he's told, and this'll all be over in a couple days.”

“But what could you want from him?” she asked, letting a tear spill down her cheek.

“No good robbin' a place if you get caught leavin',” one of the men said.

“But...there's nothing worth stealing in Moomin Valley,” Mymble said, in honest confusion. She had a pearl necklace, as did Mrs. Fillyjonk, Sniff had a few gold coins, but other than that, everyone's treasures were much more prosaic. Sea shells and books and fishing poles and hats, for the most part.

Brains sniffed. “That's what folks think. We know better. Rest up, lass. Gonna be a long couple of days.”

\---XXX---

At Moomin House, they all sat around the living room, the Moominparents and Moomin, Snorkmaiden and Snufkin, Little My and Too-Ticky and the Police Inspector. The note had been passed around and now lay on the table, deceptively innocent yet malevolent.

“It's hard to believe,” Moominpappa said, his head in his paw as he stared at the letter. “It's just as you said, what could there be in Moomin Valley anyone could want this badly?”

“What about that gold Aunt Jane left with you?” Snufkin asked. “People get silly over gold, I've noticed.”

Moominpappa and Moominmamma started, looking at each other in surprise.

“Why, I'd forgotten all about it!” Moominmamma said in surprise. “If someone had stolen it, I wouldn't have noticed for ages!”

“I'm the same, there was no need for all this if that was what they wanted. They could have been clearer about it,” Moominpappa said with irritation.

“I forgot to see if Mymble's pearl necklace was still there, but they're probably going to try and get as much as they can,” the Inspector said despondently. “And what can I do? I can't risk Mymble.”

“I'll follow them,” Little My said at once. “I'm small and good at sneaking. I'll find out where they've got her and we can get her back, then you can arrest them.”

“It's not that easy, Little My,” Moomin protested.

“For you maybe, you're so white they'd see you in an instant,” she shot back. “But I bet I can, and Snufkin can come too if you're so worried.”

“Thank you for making me a part of this,” Snufkin murmured.

“Snufkin, are you going along with this?” Moominpappa asked almost incredulously.

Snufkin shrugged. “I don't have a better plan. And I don't trust kidnappers to keep their word.”

\---XXX---

No one slept well that night. Not the Inspector, pacing his station, not the Moomins in their home, not Too-Ticky or Snufkin or Little My, who sought out Snufkin in his tent, as though he would be taken from her as well.

Nor any of the kidnappers or their hostage, who had yet to think of a plan of escape.

\---XXX---

The next day dragged on.

It would have been easier on everyone's nerves if the kidnappers had done the deed that night and gotten it over with, but instead, they had to wait, and nerves were stretched thin.

The fact that Little My and Snufkin were going to follow them didn't help.

It wasn't about the gold – Aunt Jane would be upset, but it was a fair trade to get Mymble back – but rather about not trusting the kidnappers to keep their word.

For all they knew, Mymble was already dead and they were just making them all wait and suffer for the fun of it.

\---XXX---

Mymble was fuming.

She had tried the bathroom trick – make them untie you so you can go, and she had needed to – but it hadn't worked. She simply hadn't been fast enough.

They'd given her some water and food, and watched her each second her paws had been untied to eat it before tying her again.

They still said they would let her go when it was all over, that she was no good as insurance if she were hurt, but she wasn't sure she trusted that. Not with the way Knife seemed to watch her, the way the others listened to him.

If things didn't work out as Brain had planned, Mymble had a bad feeling about how all of this was going to go.

\---XXX---

The Moomins went to bed that evening as if everything were normal.

They weren't going to be able to sleep, but they needed to pretend, to act as if things were normal, in the hopes that it would help Mymble.

Snufkin retreated to his tent, with Little My, just as they had the night before.

He doused his lantern, and the two of them lay down so no shadow would fall on the canvas, and they settled in to wait.

It was around midnight when there was a noise, and Snufkin nudged Little My. She nudged him back, as awake as he was, and they inched the canvas open.

There were people clustered around the outside entrance to the Moomin House basement.

There was a brief argument, too hushed to hear, before they disappeared into the basement.

Little My and Snufkin waited, barely breathing, Snufkin's claws digging into the dirt as he kneaded it anxiously.

It seemed to take hours for them to emerge, longer than it should have, carrying a carpetbag, the same one Aunt Jane had brought the gold to Moomin House in.

Moominpappa hadn't hidden the gold – Aunt Jane had been insistent about them talking to it, to get it used to them – so it shouldn't have been hard to find.

Perhaps that was the problem, Snufkin thought. People thought gold should be hidden, and so they were searching for more.

Two of the kidnappers carried the gold together. Sniff had carried it by himself, so it might have drawn a comment under other circumstances, but for now the two satisfied themselves with staying low and following on all fours.

Snufkin left his hat in the tent, so it couldn't give them away as they crawled and crept along, hiding in bush and behind tree, silent as they could be.

The thieves' path took them to the Snork house, where it seemed they came out empty handed, but Snufkin would guess there were plans or some sort of experiment of the Snork's in their bags.

Then to the Fillyjonk's, to the other houses of people with money (few as those were in Moomin Valley), picking up a thing here, a thing there.

The sky was beginning to lighten before they changed course, heading for the woods.

Despite the lightening sky, there were still many a place to hide for creatures like Snufkin and Little My, who kept the thieves in sight, not daring to get too close.

At they retreated to an old cottage, in worse shape than the witch's cottage. Of course, by now, her cottage was only in poor shape in looks and was as sturdy as Moomin House in reality, but the look of the thing mattered.

Snufkin and Little My hid outside, waiting.

“Think she's in there?” Little My hissed.

“I don't know, but probably,” Snufkin answered.

“I'm gonna go look,” Little My declared in another hiss, and she was crawling behind the trees before Snufkin could stop her.

She inched her way along to the back, creeping up to the wall. Peeking around it, she caught Snufkin's eye and gave a thumbs-up before jumping to peek in a window.

It was dark and boarded over, but there were cracks between the boards to glance through.

It was two rooms, she could see – a front and back room.

And Mymble was in the back room.

She was tied and looked furious and dirty but unharmed, and Little My dropped from the window frame and backed away into the forest.

Much as she wanted to call out and get her sister out of there, even Little My had to admit there were too many for her to take on on her own.

She hurried around to the front, hissing to Snufkin, “She's in there all right. In the back room.”

“Good. Go lead the others here, and I'll keep watch,” he said, crouching down low.

“Why do I have to?” Little My demanded.

“You're faster than I am,” was the too-reasonable answer.

Little My scowled but took off.

\---XXX---

The letter had said they would let Mymble go the day after the day after the thefts.

Snufkin figured they would want to get as far away as possible first before leaving the letter to let them know where to find her – but on the other paw, they'd said they would leave a note at the station.

He was curious how they intended to manage that.

And what he would do if they moved Mymble somewhere else.

There was the faintest whisper of noise, and Too-Ticky was beside him.

“The rest are coming,” she said, her voice the whisper of the breeze next to him. “They don't dare come close with that fur of theirs. Any plan?”

“Mymble's at the back. If we could create a distraction and get her out...”

Too-Ticky squinted at the house, considering. “How many?”

“Five.”

“Right. Get to the back, then.” With that Too-Ticky disappeared back into the forest, quite the feat with her light clothes and coloring.

Snufkin hurried around to the back of the building.

There was only one window, so it was clear which one Little My had peeked in.

Snufkin considered it for a few seconds before trying one of the boards at the corner of the house. It looked as though whoever had first build this house had taken a 'good enough' attitude towards construction, slapping the boards together with little care towards being solid or long lasting.

As he'd thought, the wood in one corner was weak, poorly nailed together, and shifted under his paws, coming loose with ease until it swung from a single nail. Carefully he pushed it to the side until he could peek into the room, cautiously inching his head into the room pushing the splintery wood out of the way.

Mymble's eyes went wide when she saw him crawling into the room, both of them keeping silent as the men moved about in the other room.

There was a commotion from outside – Snufkin thought he heard Moomin's voice, and Little My's, but couldn't make out everything they were saying. Some story about being lost in the woods, it sounded like.

Snufkin hurried across the floor, knife in paw, to cut his sister free.

The ropes took a bit of sawing, but Mymble was free quickly enough, hurrying to help untie herself as soon as her paws were free. Snufkin passed her the knife, working on the rope with his claws as she took care of the one around her ankles.

Then the door to the room beyond swung open.

A voice hollered, huge paws swinging for them.

Snufkin lashed out, clawed paw making contact, and the kidnapper staggered back with a cry of pain, calling out to the rest, “There's someone in here takin' the girlie!”

Then there were more cries, and beyond the kidnapper Snufkin could see Moominpappa and the Police Inspector and Too-Ticky and Little My among the kidnappers.

He grabbed Mymble's paw, shoving her towards the hole in the wall. She resisted, refusing to get out before her little brother.

The kidnapper grabbed at them again, getting more claw marks for his trouble, and Mymble shoved Snufkin through the hole, following on his heels .

She grabbed his paw and they took off into the woods, though Snufkin tried to pull free, to go back and help.

They paused far enough away to watch, panting, as the kidnappers were led from the building and tied with the rope they had used on Mymble.

With a glad cry, Mymble ran back to fling herself onto the beaming Inspector, who held her tight before drawing Too-Ticky in to hold Mymble as well.

Snufkin jogged back up to join them, and found himself caught up in his own hug by a joyous Moomin.

It was a proud victory march back to Moomin Valley, carrying between them the loot and with the kidnappers sullenly marching along, kept in line by a beaming, smug Little My.

Yes, crime was indeed quickly dealt with here in Moomin Valley.


End file.
